Tent City Aid Nears After Five Winters

A group of homeless people living in woods in Lakewood Township, N.J., is preparing for their sixth -- and hopefully final -- winter living in the outdoor encampment. Natalie Keyssar meets the residents of this tent city.

By

Susannah Moran And

Natalie Keyssar

Nov. 22, 2012 10:03 p.m. ET

LAKEWOOD TOWNSHIP, N.J.—An improvised community of tents and shanties in the woodlands here has become an enduring refuge for dozens of homeless men and women. As residents of New Jersey's tent city gird for their sixth—and possibly final—winter, there are new plans to bring the residents in from the cold.

Leaders of the encampment are working to build 70 wooden shelters before freezing temperatures arrive. The temporary shelters are designed to include carpeting and space heaters for extra measures of warmth, and will be organized in 10 clusters around a central community center. It marks the first time in more than six years that the tent city has undertaken winter preparations of this magnitude, said Steve Brigham, a minister who has worked with the homeless in the woods since 2006.

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Eve, a tent city resident
Natalie Keyssar for The Wall Street Journal

Mr. Brigham, an electrical contractor by trade, began his involvement by doling out tents and propane stoves, coordinating donations and distributing food for the handful of homeless people, many with mental illnesses and addiction issues, who had found a place in the forest around Lakewood.

As the economic downturn in 2008 made times tougher, he said the community saw an influx of jobless newcomers. Today, he estimates that the population hovers around 80.

That increased head count prompted Mr. Brigham to make the tent city, where he now lives, his calling. "I was doing this at night and it came to the point where I couldn't do both," he recalled. "I made the decision to do this full time."

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Steve Brigham in a converted bus that was parked in the camp until it was confiscated by police.
Natalie Keyssar for The Wall Street Journal

People come and go from the encampment, some staying for years. Marilyn and Michael Berenzweig moved into a tent in 2010, after Ms. Berenzweig lost her job as a textile designer.

"We are not good savers I have to admit," she said. "You can be a steady worker and not be able to afford an apartment."

Chickens abound at the tent city, wandering out towards the traffic on Cedar Bridge Avenue. Semipermanent infrastructure, including a shower house fed by ground water, has been built over the years. Garbage has become a problem, with bags piled high on a recent visit.

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Children and parents await gifts last January for Three King's Day.
Natalie Keyssar for The Wall Street Journal

Even beyond sanitation, Lakewood officials and residents haven't been at ease with the encampment. Police received about 200 calls related to the encampment in the past year, said Lakewood Police Department Capt. Gregory Meyer. A spike in drinking and fighting prompted residents of the tent city to hold a recent vote that banned illegal drugs, instituted quiet hours between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., and appointed three "co-managers'' to enforce the rules.

The township launched a court case in 2010 seeking to evict the tent city. That case remains unresolved, but lawyers for both sides have described progress in confidential settlement talks under way since January.

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Iraq and Afghanistan veteran Joe in his tent last January.
Natalie Keyssar for The Wall Street Journal

"This is a landmark litigation," said Jeffrey Wild, the pro-bono attorney representing the tent city. "Until now usually the homeless just get ejected from public land." The goal for both parties is to ultimately bring the homeless out of the woods.

"Winter is coming, a long-term solution is not going to be able to be in place," said Jean Cipriani, an attorney representing the Ocean County Social Services Board in the case. "We are looking at things that can be done for this coming winter."

That's where the winterization plan supported in part by the township comes in. Work is under way on the new structures. Mr. Brigham said his challenge now is convincing long-time residents to leave their tents and adopt the new shelters before temperatures drop too far.

Even with the hazards of winter, Mr. Bringham still prefers the months-long chill to the problems of summer in the tent city. "The hotter it gets," he said, "the more people's tempers flare out."

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